


The little sister

by Rxbx



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: ... with forest fires in the middle, Age Difference, Chris is a sweet, Chris is jealous of Wesker, Consensual Underage Sex, Enthusiastic Consent, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Forbidden Love, Incest, Light Dom/sub, Oral Sex, Protective Siblings, Secret Relationship, Shameless Smut, Sibling Incest, Slow burn..., Underage Kissing, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Vaginal Sex, Wesker don't give a fuck, but it starts there, curiosity is a sassy bitch, nothing happens when she is a child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:02:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27309619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rxbx/pseuds/Rxbx
Summary: "But Jill's face... Oh, she wants to ask you about him", she sighed, like those dramatic romantic girl sighs. "And he left, yeah, but he came back. Maybe, maybe it's fate!"She tried not to be obvious with her uneasy face."Chris doesn't ask about her...""As if he had to; is a big man!" Rebecca fluttered her lashes. "I'm sorry, Claire. But if Chris looks for Jill, I doubt he'll send you a warning email. You're just his little sister."...In this story she knew that she was no victim, because when she took what did not belong to her, it felt so good doing something so bad.
Relationships: Carlos Oliveira/Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield/Claire Redfield, Claire Redfield/Albert Wesker, Leon S. Kennedy/Claire Redfield
Comments: 36
Kudos: 29





	1. Theory

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Xaori](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xaori/gifts), [MasterOfFangirlingArt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterOfFangirlingArt/gifts).



> And this is what happens when a special person makes you love a partner thanks to a good story (yes, you Xaori hahaha). Incestfield had already started to attract my attention when I played Code: Veronica and then Darkside Chronicles. Chris and Claire's actual interactions are very rare, but the few that exist in canon are wonderful! And in DC, seeing them fighting Alexia Ashford together, their dynamics and teamwork ... Capcom, why are you denying us another game like that? Where have you left my CV remake?
> 
> My biggest handicap is that English is not my first language, but I made the decision to take a chance, so I apologize for any mistakes. I would like to have someone for translation work, so I will seek help.
> 
> My style is not short and plotless works, but due to language barriers this is what I can offer at the moment.
> 
> Enjoy it!

The still afternoon air was divided by the sound of a school bell. _Holy miracle_. The young students eagerly poured on the grass in a frantic race. Some desperate for smoking or steal time with their hot lovers. Others crowded, forming small knots of idle conversation, the kind that they hide from teachers.

The boastful boys in dark sweaters, and pretentious smiles, running their fingers through the unkempt strands of their hair.

The flirtatious girls swinging their pleated skirts, not plaid; they avoided that cliché at least.

 ** _What a good combination_** , note the sarcasm.

The little girl Redfield spotted Leon Kennedy in a corner of the main staircase while she going down. He wasn't alone; Carlos Oliveira, Piers Nivans and Luis Sera by his side, laughing and speaking in whispers. The three boys were too engrossed to notice the red-haired girl who shared a brief glance with the handsome blond. Claire's cheeks turned red, but due to the memory of the kiss he had stolen from her that morning.

She was seventeen now. Kisses were child's play to her; had stepped on better bases. But the treacherous blush was from a different side effect.

A different and so similar name at the same time.

With Rebecca, they went quickly through the cliques and anti-cliques, without look. Neither of them was interested in playing school politics. When classes were over, they wanted to go away and send everything to hell. It seemed like a sensible thing to do.

They stopped by the sidewalk, after surviving the crowd.

"So, you didn't talk to Leon?"

Claire was very distracted browsing the parked cars, looking for a particular vehicle, a particular olive green Jeep. Rebecca's question made her spin.

"Hmm? What?"

Chambers insisted, "Leon, good-looking blonde who kissed you against the lockers. Sounds familiar?"

Luckily for Claire, the hallway had been empty when Leon kissed her. Unfortunately for Claire, Rebecca was too good a friend to leave her before her going to class.

She didn't know that she knew about the kiss. When Rebecca showed up and announced they were late for Professor Wesker's class, Claire and Leon were already separated. Chambers was an excellent actress, ‘cause Claire didn't imagine she had caught them, until she yelled it at her later in the bathrooms.

"It didn't mean anything."

"Whyeee?"

"Becca!"

"Don't play dumb with me, gingerdoll girl. You've been drooling over him since you were a child." Her short and brown hair bounces as she argued. "Besides ... It's Leon Kennedy!"

Yeah, _that_ Kennedy. The boy that many girls wanted. The boy Claire Redfield wouldn't have turned down an opportunity with; at least, that was before her deepest dreams came true. Rebecca had no idea about it, obviously, and kept supporting her in a fantasy that always worked as a surrogate. Nobody imagined it. Claire was betting on that luck.

She was a good girl.

"I'm over my crush, baby Sherlock," her green eyes twinkled. Not because of Leon. Rebecca continued to attribute that glow to Leon. She supposed it suited her. "I'm a new girl."

"Heard the same thing. From Jill, for your brother."

"I remind you that Jill and _my brother_ broke up." Shouldn't have sounded so harsh, but Rebecca didn't suspect the real motive behind her skeptical tone. Just a protective sister. Just a brotherly bound. "He enlisted in the Air Force. He left."

In fact, he did leave town while he was still having an affair with Jill, yeah, they were still together and even Claire believed they were going to continue despite the circumstances. But this was not the case, because Chris surprised everyone months later.

Only his little sister knew what happened when no one was looking. She only told Rebecca that he wasn't looking to hurt Jill, while the aforeseid didn't say anything about it.

Despite his authority and temperament issues, he had his life plans and couldn’t stay. Chris confessed to her one night, the night their hearts were opened. Days later, Jill was no longer his girlfriend and the confusion of many wasn’t unexpected.

She remembered stuffing her mouth with snacks until she is about to drown, as her girl friends comforted Valentine in front of her at lunch. Man, she wanted earth to swallow her up. Jill's pain was real, while she still hid hers every time she closed legs. Inside the classroom it was easy, by the way, because Wesker was a distraction with his dark presence. Things were different outside; walking was essential. Walking meant opening thighs and reliving sensations. Her face was a fucking open book. Rebecca asked several times if something hurt her. But Claire's throat caught the word "pussy" every time she answered.

When they asked, she shook the head. When her older brother was insulted, she tried to disappear into the seat. Jill never look; she just saw her intact food. Yet Claire felt that blue eyes riveted on her every move. As if that woman had been able to enter Claire's mind and see the evidence from that night last Friday. Images painted in fire that represented the cruel and only response Valentine would need to understand what the hell had happened to their relationship.

It wasn't her fault, not directly, the redhead thought. Jill Valentine was one of her closest friends, but neither in this nor any other parallel universe she could have told the truth.

"But Jill's face... Oh, she wants to ask you about him", she sighed, like those dramatic romantic girl sighs. "And he left, yeah, but he came back. Maybe it's fate!"

She tried not to be obvious with her uneasy face.

"Chris doesn't ask about her."

No, _fuck_ , he didn't ask.

"As if he had to; is a big man!" Rebecca fluttered her lashes. "I'm sorry, Claire. But if Chris looks for Jill, I doubt he'll send you a warning email. _You're just his little sister_."

If there was a fan of couple that Chris and Jill formed, it was Rebecca Chambers. It didn't matter what she said, for her there was no mistake in the composition of the elements. Jill was in love with Chris and they would finish together. The age difference wasn’t relevant. Case closed. Claire couldn't help but take it personally and felt a ray _-or a storm-_ of jealousy, the same one that haunted her for years seeing her brother with other women. Gosh. It was wrong, very wrong. Claire guessed the feeling was going to haunt her from now on. _Devourer_. _Incessant_. However, those sensations were more dangerous than ever, because secretly, they had already caused an irremediable disaster in their wake.

Claire honestly hadn't planned for her life to change that way, or for something really important and real to emerge from the reckless evolution of her feelings. After all, she was a sensible and intelligent person who wasn’t ignorant of the implications of her delicate "situation". The lane change was spontaneous and unexpected. She had always seen him as a hero and a protector with that tenacity and temperament that characterized him. Chris prepared her to defend herself when Claire confessed that other children at school tried to scare her. Chris attended to her every hit after teaching her to ride a bike. He covered her from their parents if she committed some harmless mischief. It was natural to admire him from that angle, so she was never ashamed to project that attachment in front of their family and friends; but she was very quiet the day her body started acting strange around him.

Even with her tender innocence and age, Claire developed an undeniable cunning. She was very careful to hide her particular interest in taboo topics when deciding where and with whom she investigated. For an instant, she considered approaching Professor Ingrid Hunnigan. She then envisioned hundreds of scenarios where Hunnigan would call dad Redfield and mom Redfield at school, expressing how concerned she was that their little daughter was suddenly so interested in the subject of incest. She imagined that the teacher might hint to them: _“Is the bond between her and her older brother healthy? Have you two seen something weird in their relationship recently?"_ and the scene alerted Claire's senses so she changed her strategy.

She went directly to her parents and asked them at once. She stuck to the plan that if she had nothing special to put away, then there was no need to beat around the bush. And it was so. They wanted to know the reason behind her curiosity and she replied that some children she came across at school had mentioned it. Then her mother and father looked at each other and agreed to explain only what was necessary to their twelve-year-old daughter.

Claire had made herself comfortable at the kitchen counter, planting her elbows on the surface and holding her face with her hands, while she listened and quelled new doubts (or well, only the ones her parents considered appropriate to clarify). Luckily for Claire, although they avoided making their answers very explicit, they weren't very ambiguous either. Their young daughter felt guilty seeing them striving for her. Meanwhile, inside, she was becoming more and more aware of her "situation."

What Claire didn't foresee that day was that her always loud and huge older brother — just sixteen years old — was coming home early from the gym, and he wouldn't make any noise when entering the house as she exclaimed, “Incest is illegal? And is it illegal to mention it? "

Not even the Redfields saw him appear and as if nothing they clarified that the illegality of the matter worked in another way (they were not going to mention sex and divert the conversation). Because of that, she was scared the moment he sat down heavily next to her and with an intrigued expression asked: "Wait what, who committed incest?"

"Chris!" Mrs. Redfield scowled and the boy shrugged as he took a cookie from the plate in front of Claire. "Here your sister asked us about it and we're explaining some things to her."

Claire's face flushed violently. It all got worse when Chris turned to her and his dark gaze made her cringe on the stool. At first she kept her head down, too embarrassed, but ended up directing her blue eyes at him.

Chris was disheveled and a little sweaty, she noticed right away. The visits to the gym were having an effect, as his arms were getting bigger and bigger. And his t-shirts? It seemed about to burst. Claire wasn't kidding if she said her brother would triple her in size in a couple of months. Now she felt incredibly tiny as he watched her.

"Wow, sugar flea." Chris ruffled the girl's auburn hair and she smiled calmer now. "What a topic of conversation you brought up, eh. Are you trying to give mom and dad a heart attack?"

Being the case, she was the one who could suffer the heart attack.

"I heard some children speak at school and I wanted to know. I was curious."

She clung to the original plan again, hoping the strategy would continue to work.

"Curious?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Uhum.” Claire's hair danced with her nod. “Don't believe me if you want, big boy.”

Something crossed Chris's factions, but he joined the talk. Minutes later, they were talking about the new baby Barry and Kate Burton would soon have. When the Redfields laughed happily and turned around, it was the moment that Claire felt her older brother lean closer to her.

"Shorty, mom and dad don't realize it but I know you're hiding something." Chris affirmed without any hesitation, looking at her. “You are an open book to me. You forgot it?"

And that was exactly what the young redhead had wanted to avoid from the first moment she began to carry out her plan. Chris was supposed to go to Jessica Sherawat's house (who she accidentally overheard him flirting with on the phone) and come home very, very late. Late enough that he never found out what his little sister was finding out. He didn't go with Jessica, however. He became unpredictable again and made things more difficult with his overwhelming presence and terrifying ability to read her. Chris Redfield knew Claire in a way that scared her now when in the past it turned out to be the most incredible thing to her. That was the most dangerous of all: his ability. If Claire got lost, it wouldn't take long for him to pick up the answer she fought to keep silent.

Chris's rough fingers gently invited her gaze to his. He gave her a beautiful smile and the overwhelming masculinity of his features became impossible to ignore.

"Don't try to lie to me, shorty."

"I... I don't, Chris."

Chris buzzed, glanced at his parents and then turned his attention back to her, "Hmm, okay."

Claire knew, from the ease he gave in, that he was just procrastinating. So that night she wasn't caught off guard when he knocked on his bedroom door to warn his arrival.

"Hey."

"Hey." She greeted him with the arm of her shabby teddy bear, more older than her brother's favorite pajamas.

The invitation was immediately received. Chris sat on the edge of his bed and for a while was silent. He was lost in thought, running a hand over his mouth and jaw. Claire really disliked seeing him a bit insecure, and she tilted her head just enough for him to blink at her. It was already beginning to be worrying. What if he suspected ...?

“Did you hear it at school, shorty? Really?" He asked carefully, his intrigue turning into an anguished grin. Like the good older brother who took care of his little sister. "I know you are omitting something from me. You can tell me anything, okay? You can trust me."

Guilt swelled at a violent rate inside her and the branches of filthy consciousness snaked through her gut, turning her into a mess of nerves and headlong machinations. If she told him the truth, she couldn't bear that he hated her.

"I just ... I just can't, Chris."

"Tell me what happened. Did you see anything at school?"

“No!”

"I know you didn't ask out of curiosity. You're a pretty cunning girl for your age" He rested his elbows on her thick thighs and sharpened his gaze. "Answer, Claire."

The aforementioned girl wanted the earth to swallow her. The boy was so kind and she was about to destroy that genuine concern on his face.

“So?”

"I just wanted to know about the ... the ..."

"Yes, _that_." Chris purposely dodged the word, frowning. "Why did you want to know?"

“If I tell you, you’ll be very angry with me. And you’ll never speak to me again. "

She must have known that cunning wasn’t a trait Chris lacked, for from the way his expressions evolved, and eventually his face made a conclusion, Claire realized that she had just lost. He blinked, tilted his head, and parted his lips.

“But... With whom...?”

And she looked at him, pouting. Chris exhaled.

"Oh, shorty." He didn't run, didn't reprimand her for her shameful confession. He just looked at her with much more concern, though he began to move cautiously around her. "I’m your brother. You're just confused, okay?"

"But what mom and dad said ... I've noticed it in me near you" she whispered, refusing to raise her face.

Although Chris seemed on the verge of panic, he showed that if it were up to her he would do his best not to scare her.

"Shorty, it's just something that you're going to get over in time."

"Do you believe that?" Claire's blue eyes sparkled with hope and anxiety at the same time.

"I'm sure." She didn't see the doubt in him, she was biting her thumb. "So you don't have to be afraid of anything."

Claire's neck snapped toward him. "I'm not scared!"

"So you don't have to think about that much, Claire-bear. You're just going to mess up your little redhead", he said it so warmly and firmly that the girl believed his words.

Chris stroked her cheek and tickled her to make her laugh, causing Claire's mind to forget what she had heard from their parents hours ago. Chris was her mainstay and if he told her it wasn't necessary to dwell on those thoughts, then she would follow his advice.


	2. Experimentation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, thanks for the support! The truth is that I love these two and well, I am very excited with your comments. It is very important for me to know that despite everything, you can enjoy this just like me
> 
> I gave the Redfields names haha it was strange to write them without one xD
> 
> Any suggestion or advice I am open to listen <3
> 
> Enjoy it

* * *

Thomas and Diane Redfield never considered their sweet youngster's curiosity a critical problem. Not even when the girl asked questions, did she touch on topics that generated controversy and could shock anyone. On one occasion, the neighbor at the end of the block accused Claire of being a bad influence on her children, it was one of the countless times that her older brother bravely defended her from other people.

On that hot November afternoon, Claire splashed in the pool in her new vermilion bathing suit. She was running from Chris and his mischievous smile, swimming from corner to corner so that the boy in his antagonistic role of shark wouldn't win the game.

"Come here, shorty," he crooned, wiping his nose and slowly gliding toward her. “You cannot escape forever. Look how tired you are. "

Indeed, Claire was happily exhausted, but from swimming and laughing simultaneously thanks to her brother's strategic teasing.

"Na-uh" Claire sank down to her chin and wagged her eyebrows. "You will have to catch me."

Their father talked on the phone in the garden and their mother made sandwiches in the kitchen while listening to Queen on the radio. Someone banged on the front door incessantly and Claire yelled ****"time"**** to her older brother before exiting the pool.

“Careful, sweet flea! You can slip ”came the awaited warning from Chris, who brushed the damp locks from his forehead as he watched her every move.

"I'll be back, Mr. Shark!"

None of the Redfields had the slightest idea who was visiting and why, consequently, Claire reflected her genuine shock as soon as she found Mia Winters on the other side of the door. It was Diane who gently pushed her daughter away from the threshold, and from Winters' accusing gazes, seconds later. Thus, the heated discussion began. Claire instinctively hugged herself every time Mrs. Winters pointed a finger at her. Although her parents defended her with tooth and nail, her true confidence emerged when unmistakable wet hands grasped her shoulders.

Instantly, she turned and latched onto the strong bare torso like a life preserver. Chris was cold and drenched from getting out of the pool recently, but at the same time he was incredibly warm. He wrapped his arms around her and, reflecting an expression Claire had never seen on his face, confronted Mrs. Winters.

"You're wrong if you think you can come to our house to insult my sister, ma'am."

"Chris, please." Diane, no matter how much she agreed with her son's protective reaction, preferred to tell the boy to back off and take the girl with him. The last thing she desired was for Mia Winters to blame Christopher of being disrespectful too.

"Follow me, sweet flea," Chris snorted, leading the young redhead with him into the kitchen. "You have nothing to listen to there."

"Ugh. How gross is she" Claire whispered when she knew her parents couldn't hear her at that distance. "She tells me I'm a bad influence, well, guess what. It was one of her children who tried to stick his disgusting tongue in my mouth."

Her brother must have hurt his neck from the savage way he turned to look at her, "What did you just say?"

Claire covered her mouth and Chris clenched his jaw. "Claire, did that boy want to force you to kiss him?"

"I have a bit of guilt in that. I wanted to know what it feels like to kiss someone" the redhead avoided speaking very loudly so that her parents would not find out about the incident.

"Let me guess, were you curious again?"

The sly blue-eyed one stomped her feet and squared her shoulders in front of the guy proudly, "You know why I wanted to kiss a boy. Don't play dumb."

Chris's face turned red as he coughs, naturally stunned by what Claire's confession implied. While Claire had admitted to having feelings for him weeks ago, he hoped his sister wasn't going to do something crazy because of what she was experiencing. What Chris didn’t consider, was that the redhead was becoming a teenager, and hormones sooner or later would awaken things that he would not have the right to explain.

Much less with actions.

If she was hinting at what he envisioned, then he didn't need her to be too specific.

"Chris, is it normal for them to stick out their tongues so much? Look how it was supposed to get here." The redhead voiced a big A and put a finger in her mouth.

"Well, first of all, you're too young to ... know such things" Chris grabbed her wrist, took her hand out of her mouth, and watched her smile casually. He licked his lips and suppressed his own smile, for Claire was genuinely charming without even trying. "Second, kid, keep your tongue in your mouth until eighteen."

"You're a cheater. You're not eighteen and you make out with girls." The redhead pointed at him with her index finger. " _You_ keep your tongue in your mouth, boy."

Chris laughed, rubbed his face and muttered, "Why are you so hard?"

"Hard to trick." Claire smiled.

“Anyway, sweet flea, you have to be very guarded. There are smarter and more astute people who will not hesitate to take advantage of you. "

"I'm not stupid, Chris."

Her strong older brother shook his head and carried her. He bring her up to the kitchen counter, then went to the refrigerator, took out a jug of juice, and filled a small glass. In less than three steps he was next to her again, handed her the orange juice and, now that they were at the same height, the redhead could see how messy his dark eyebrows were.

"I, better than anyone, know that." Chris blinked as his sister paused with her drink to wet her thumbs and comb his eyebrows with a funny focused expression. "Claire."

"I'm listening," she hummed.

The youngster snorted and continued saying, "You're still a teeny girl, and the world is cruel to good girls like you."

Claire gave a "hmmp" and looked at him with her bright blue eyes, "If you want I can be a good girl just for you, and for mom and dad of course. Would that make you feel calmer? "

"You're not going to misbehave at school for that, are you?" A few drops of water splashed on Chris as the redhead shook her head vigorously in the form of 'No'. He nodded and said, "That's my good girl."

Claire's smile grew when Chris tapped her nose.

"Besides ..." she spoke suddenly, attracting the boy's attention, "I didn't want to kiss other children. I wanted to kiss you. "

Chris himself was surprised by his own spontaneity and serenity when he replied: “We are siblings, sweet flea. You can't kiss your brother, alright? "

Claire rolled her eyes, but agreed with him and drank some juice, "okeydokey."

After a while she whispered, "Not even a very very petty touch?"

He sighed and gently wiped the juice that ran down her chin.

"Not in the mouth."

"And no tongue until eighteen, yes, I get it."

He raised an eyebrow at the sarcasm in a twelve-year-old's tone, "Yes, miss, and no grumbling."

"I'm going to be very nice, but give me a kiss. C'mooooon."

"Claire ..." her brother only relented when she put her hands together and gave him the most lovely smile that could exist in the world. "Okay, okay!"

It was the sweetest and most innocent touch they could share. It was just a kiss on the forehead and Claire felt tremendously happy and complete.

With the progress of time, the evolution of circumstances, things were changing. The Redfields always preferred that her daughter be intelligent and that she wasn't afraid to ask the right questions, despite everything.

Because obviously she wasn't a fool to throw prying questions at her parents.

"That must be Barry," Thomas warned, rising from the couch as soon as the house phone rang. His wife moved quickly from her lap. "Looks like Kate had some complications with the pregnancy."

"Was severe?" His wife wanted to know, while the siblings listened to each syllable from the sofa.

“Contractions apparently. Barry says it's not serious and ... ”The phone insisted and Mrs. Redfield ordered her husband to answer.

Afterward, she walked into the kitchen meanwhile saying, “I'll take a look at the stew. Chris, Claire, don't eat all the cookies! Especially you, Christopher! "

Chris threw up his hands and was about to reply, but his mother disappeared into the kitchen doorway before he had a chance. Rolling his eyes, he stretched out on the couch with his hands behind his neck, willing to continue watching without watching the tv. His head snapped around, in that instant he saw the red-haired girl next to him biting her thumb, and he immediately redirected both his interest and his plans to her.

"What have you got, shorty? Sad about cookies? " As if he were about to prepare a conspiracy, he leaned closer and sayed softly, "If we both sin, you know that unity make strength."

The thirteen-year-old redhead laughed. She only gave her wet thumb a recess when Chris himself lowered her hand. It was an old mania of her that her older brother really disliked.

"What's going on?"

“You ... You remember what I told you last year, right?" She waited to see if her brother would panic over the course of the conversation. He understood what she meant, hesitated, but remained calm.

"I do." She imagined that Chris all this time maintained the certainty that she had overcome her conflicts just as he had assured.

_He was so wrong._

"Do you think I should tell them already?" Claire suggested, a mixture of anxiety and intrigue screwing up her stomach. Other sensations haunted her being so close to him, inhaling the intoxicating scent of his cologne, but she was still too innocent to unravel the implicit messages her hormones were sending. She glanced behind his to confirm that the shoreline was still clear, then raised her eyebrows. “It's just ... I don't know if you're right. I still feel the same. "

Chris scratched the back of his neck and his own mortification blocked his throat. He couldn't find the words or the voice to offer his insightful sister a solution. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water so many times that when Claire spoke again, it was to unconsciously muddle his thoughts.

"But it would only be illegal if you and I fuck, itsn't?" Claire whispered with one hand next to her mouth.

Her brother choked and, now, he got shaken, “Claire, what the _hell_? Where did you hear that?!"

"Don't swear in front of me, big boy! Mom and Dad will hear you. " Chris didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his sister's softness, as if she hadn't said anything that in the wrong ears could get them into tremendous mess.

"Claire, who told you that?" he demanded to know, lowering his voice.

"No one. I figured it out alone. "

Of course, she had deduced it herself, because their parents avoided precisely the need to touch on that controversial point, thinking about the good of his sister. Chris rubbed his eyelids until smudges overshadowed his vision, uselessly delaying the ship that had already set sail.

“Chris, if I tell them, they're going to separate us. I don't want that to happen. Besides, it's not like we've had sex. "

"Shorty," he put a finger to his lips and she nodded several times, abiding by the stern instruction. “You calm down, okay? We can keep this between you and me. "

"Okay." Claire snuggled against his shoulder, hoping somehow that her older brother, aware of what she was feeling, would reject any kind of closeness between them. To the amazement of the redhead, he not only accepted her, he embraced her and revolutionized the silent sensations that for the moment were harmless.

_It wasn't true?_

* * *

_His sister._

_The irrelevant little sister to whom he owed no justification._

_Oh sure, that one_.

Claire did her best to hide that she was turning her back on Rebecca on purpose, because the tic in her eyebrow was going to expose her. He wanted to save herself the need to see Rebecca in her effusive matchmaker state. As much as she loved her friend, right now she was in no mood to ...

"Oh look! If it is the future Mrs. Redfield! Which nobody is going to deny me. "

Claire wasn't supposed to turn to confirm who Rebecca was talking about.

And the harsh female voice chided, “Please, Becca, can you stop with that? I'm not amused anymore. "

Although Jill wasn't wearing a scowl, she didn't seem very happy with Chambers' jokes either. Of course, Rebecca would only calm down for a while, then return to the charge and with more enthusiasm than a girl her size should have.

"Oh, come on. Don't be as grumpy as Claire. " Rebecca complained, causing the newcomer to turn her attention to the redhead.

"Wait, wait, what did she do to you?" she asked in amusement, her slender fingers dancing in time with her broad hips. She looked more cheerful than normal.

Claire rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"What do you imagine?"

"As long as the Wesker thing is not repeated ..." Valentine's muttered innuendo not only caused Rebecca to cough, but brought back censored memories for Claire.

Memories that, at the time, were not so useless.

“You didn't have to mention it, Jill. Let's see, try again. "

"Uh, let me guess," she pretended to think about it, putting a finger under her chin. "Does it rhyme with Kennedy?"

Claire waved a hand as if to say: _Can it be more obvious?_

"No, nah. What happens here is that Claire is a natural killjoy, ”Rebecca joked as she clung to Valentine's arm. As if young Redfield could really attack her in any slip. “Maybe she lacks sex, good rough sex, as the doctor recommends. Also to you, hottie. Take advantage of the fact that you have a certain sexy soldier roaming the city ”, she elbowed her playfully.

"For your information, girl ..." A small smile spread across Jill's face, who put a hand on her hip and made her two friends curious. "I have my good daily recipe reserved."

Claire and Rebecca shared a brief look.

"Get over it, it's not Chris" Jill said when she saw Rebecca ready to jump. "Although it starts with C ..."

"Don't invent, you didn't!" Rebecca gasped and the redhead smiled without much surprise. She already knew that she hadn't imagined the looks Jill was sending Carlos Oliveira lately. In the cafeteria, in the lockers. Perhaps Claire was haunted by Leon's presence, but that didn't stop her from realizing what was going on beyond her personal dilemmas.

"Shh, gosh." Valentine's face hardened. She was a reserved girl and if she entrusted them with juicy details like that, at least she expected the absolute discretion of both girls.

"Sorry. Sorry. Emotions win me."

Jill narrowed her eyes at the younger Redfield, who was toying with the lapels of her red leather jacket and watching the scene with a touch of smugness. "You look not at all surprised, gingerdoll girl."

"Oh no, Jill, how you think," she smiled and swung her ponytail, "if you have those ****fuck-me-eyes**** that don't go unnoticed and they tempt me soooo much." Her bold comment caused Jill to give her a slight nudge and a proud _"Shut up, Redfield."_ Claire laughed freely, in those moments sure Jill could liken her to her ex. "Hey! Look the positive side, Jill. Carlos must have been very foolish to ignore them."

Jill snorted. "If you only knew he only noticed because he was already interested in me since we met."

 _Oh well, but you fucked him_ , Claire thought, genuinely pleased for her.

Valentine's beauty and personality were unmatched, the redhead was well aware of that from the first time a boy passed her to look only at Jill Valentine. It wasn't her brother, obviously it was Carlos, and it really hadn't even bothered her. Pain and treacherous jealousy came later because of another name.

_How strange, the memory no longer twisted her insides as before. Could it be because she no longer has reasons to be jealous?_

"Claire, isn't that your dad?"

Thanks to Rebecca's notice, the redhead caught a glimpse of the car that was coming to pick her up. Not the olive green Jeep she had been waiting for. It was Mr. Redfield's black Subaru parking in front of the school.

"Uh, yeah. It is", Claire hid the note of disappointment in her voice and smiled at her girl friends, as if all that time they were there she had not madly wanted someone else to arrive. Then exclaimed, "And that's Carlos who is coming! Go with everything, Valentine."

"And I'm going to believe you, Redfield."

The redhead pointed behind her.

It was not a lie, of course. Turning around, the gleam on Jill's face immediately confirmed it. Indeed, Oliveira was coming straight to Valentine with a gallant smile. Piers and Leon accompanied him. Claire said goodbye to the girls as soon as the blond's daring eyes fixed on her intensely.

_Oh no, dear, that ship is not going to sail._

She felt Rebecca's murderous gaze, but Claire had no interest in staying to flirt with Kennedy. She got into her father's car, who asked how her day had been. Claire replied, waited five minutes after buckling her seat belt, and carefully chose her next words.

"I thought Chris was coming to pick me up today."

Her father kept his eyes on the road by saying, “He wanted to. But he had a problem with the visitation permit, so he had to take a plane back. "

Claire's heart stopped.

"If he just came back!"

“I know, daughter. Take it easy", Thomas looked at her for a second, laughing tenderly.

 _Yes, Claire, why not be more obvious_.

“It will only be two or three days. Your brother got very upset when he knew that he couldn't see you. I had to rip out the keys. "

Claire realized that at some point she had started biting her thumb _-damn, if Chris had been there instead of her father, her finger would already be occupying another mouth, not hers-_. The thought of that made her sink into the seat as her thighs tightened.

"I hope he call tonight."


	3. Tastiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You promised to be good for me," he murmured, staring as his thick finger disappeared into the red-haired girl's small, wet mouth. "You have to listen to me when I say something to you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to Xaori and MasterOfFangirlingArt for their comments and support. You guys are great!
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this as I do, but be patient. Because it's a slooow burn, with forest fires in between hahaha
> 
> Chris is a sweet, but a naughty at heart *wink wink*

* * *

_He called._

_He did it._

Although fate had evidently twisted her plans, Claire realized that this wasn't the first time circumstances could get complicated. On the one hand, she had neither the right nor the moral to complain about the opportunities that life teared off from her, because neither was she a saint to play the role of victim, if at the beginning of this story she had transformed into the greedy thief that led eyes to the wrong treasure. She took what didn't belong to her when (sane people) told her tirelessly that it was wrong. She stole the precious stone that (sensible people) explained to her was forbidden by law and nature when they believed that with such purity she would never be such sinful. So she had no choice but to resist silent conviction for her crimes.

But Claire, even though she didn't deserve the right, complained about how unfair her bad luck was. Fate was determined to go against the bad... and she... _she complained_.

Why did Chris have to leave so abruptly when she was dying to live in his arms? She suffered all those months without looking at his beautiful face, smelling his scent, feeling his addictive heat... all for him and his happiness. Since Claire wasn't selfish enough to claim what she couldn't have for herself ( _and said "not enough", because although she didn't claim it, she had already made it completely and irretrievably her own_ ). The world screamed at her not even think about it; oh, save the value of blood if there really was some kind of selfless love. When her tongue only played innocent games the subliminal signals warned her to stop for the good of all while there was still time.

So there wasn't any kind of selfless love if she ignored the warnings? No fucking way. She could never turn against the person who took her heart. Also, the blame fell on two pairs of shoulders. It was clearly unnecessary to explain the consensual part of the situation. She started it, yes, drugged by feelings; and whoever paid them back and fed them corresponded fifty percent of the responsibility. In this case, her partner in sin. It didn't do better, of course.

Yet she kept complaining because... Well, she couldn't help it.

Mr. Redfield drove slowly and safely home, talked about everything a little, and made a stop or two along the way. Unaware that the young redhead next to him was trying not to lose her cool. So anxious was she that ten minutes later, Thomas hadn't even parked the car in the garage of the house and she was already stumbling out of it.

"Claire, honey, how was school?" her mother greeted her from the kitchen, seeing her come home like a gale.

“Hi, mom. Yeah, great”, with the same haste she answered, she climbed the stairs and threw the backpack into her room when she passed it, due to her destination being at the far end of the hall.

The redhead didn’t lock herself in her older brother's room to smell the sheets on his bed or perfume his shirts with the wet between her thighs. She did come closer and like a fool smiled admiring at the pile of framed photographs on his desk ( _of his days at school, of their parents, of his fellow Air Force; and also of her, many of them two in the course of the years_ ). She tucked a reddish lock of her bangs behind her ear and swept her bluish gaze over the details of the bedroom. The posters, the overflowing basket of dirty clothes, the thrown socks that the boy surely didn't remember neglecting… Claire rolled her eyes and shook her ponytail from side to side as she shook her head. Every corner of this lair shouted Chris Redfield's name.

Unconsciously, the young girl had cut off her mother and ignored the comfort of her own lair to come in search of something important. Since her father picked her up from school and informed her that her brother was no longer in town, her sixth sense _-or whatever they called it-_ gave her the certainty that he couldn't leave without leaving, at least, one signal behind.

They risked having one of their parents by chance of life would capture the evidence of the crime before they did and, oh, be declared game over. However, the truth was that their deliberate folly was one of the few advantages that both society and the law had not yet taken from them. To increase the chances in their favor, the key to this quest was the implicit shared cunning of the siblings. Thus the best kept secret was kept between two, taking care that the ears and eyes of others continued to ignore what no one imagined.

For a long time, Claire searched without searching, prepared if mom or dad would suddenly appear in the doorway and ask why she was pacing around their oldest son's room. Minutes later, she stripped off her red leather jacket before flinging herself back onto the huge bed of blue sheets. Stretched out like a star, lost in the sea of her thoughts, she played with the pendant above her swollen chest, a thin iron blade with an oval azure jewel embedded in the base. It was Chris gift on her thirteenth birthday.

One of the many details that made the redhead's heart race wildly.

As he did with many other girls...

Since she could remember, her brother was always a detailed and attentive person, especially with her and with those who he cared about. Therefore it wasn't surprising to her how easily someone could fall in love with him, despite his character and stubbornness. With Jill it took a bit longer, because she was Jill Valentine, hell, the tough one. But not even this rude girl was immune to the innate charms of Chris Redfield in the end and Claire lived drowned in jealousy that season that felt like forever.

_Dammit, why lie, they were wrenching times._

That wasn't the first time that she endured another girl being the center of attention of her big brother. There were other Jill, other Jessicas who captured the perfect look that she knew could never belong to her and she quickly learned that Chris, as good as he was, didn't end up being that different from the curious teens she was dealing with in high school. Without having the slightest idea that this discovery would lead little Claire Redfield down the (correctly) incorrect road.

"Is seriously! Our little daughter is a sweetie. She says that when she grows up she is going to marry her older brother, can you believe it? " a friend of her mother had exclaimed one night that she and her family agreed to dinner at the Redfields' house. She didn't remember any names, only their faces.

At the center of the table was Mrs. Redfield's well-prepared food, and at one end was the burgeoning teenager of thirteen years and ten months, pretending to be very focused on her plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

"Oh yeah, how cute," Diane replied. “Claire has never said that, but she adores Chris. I suppose that saves me the need to explain to her that she cannot marry someone of her blood.”

"Of course, Diane, you're right on that part."

Claire listened to every word with a frown and her mind running at 60 fps. Her mother and friend found the story of the naive little sister who dreamed of one day marrying her older brother was _funny_ and _tender_. As she, two chairs away, began to understand how painful it was to simultaneously feel so big and so tiny in the eyes of the person that it took control of her own heart.

He was there, in the chair to the side, participating in the dinner out of courtesy. But he was far, far away, sharing glances with the young and flirtatious firstborn girl of the visitors.

Claire was jealous and endured like a champion.

“Chris, could you pass me the sauce? I can't reach it”, she whispered, almost expecting to be brutally ignored; but her brother either had a good ear or he still paid a little attention to her, because he turned and gave her a fleeting smile.

"If you were as tall as you were curious, you wouldn't need my help, sweet flea."

Was the only thing he said to her throughout dinner, and while Claire couldn't stand how the pretty blonde made Chris's eyes look darker than normal, she didn't throw tantrums or stupid things to get her brother to stop staring at her, because she wasn't going to look at her the same way.

When dinner was over, the two adult couples parted ways, Claire being the only one who noticed the two missing youths. She didn't follow the trail of the lovers on purpose, was an accident that she walked past the sliding doors that connected to the back garden and the pool while she was carrying some dishes and hearing the strange noises.

Breaths, gasps, bad words... The redhead stopped without a second thought and peeked through the glass of the door.

In that instant she didn't deduce why her belly was filled with heat, and as much as it hurt to see Chris with someone else, it was impossible to ignore the way her big brother kissed and recklessly touched the anxious blonde against the hidden corner of the wall, with a passion she had never witnessed before. The darkness outlined their intertwined bodies like silhouettes, but the little that could be seen from the kitchen was enough to inflame the teenager's veins.

For dignity, and the health of her body, she stepped away. She lied to her parents telling them her tummy hurt, said goodbye to the guests, and disappeared into her bedroom for the first half of the night. For the other half, she got up like a zombie, verified that her watch read one in the morning and lost sleep immediately. Motivated by eager longing, she tiptoed from her room to the door at the far end of the hall, counting every second it took her to reach her destination.

The parsimony of the gloomy bedroom sheltered her like an old and intimate childhood friend. The ethereal glow of the waning moon reflected off the blue curtains at the window, outlining every figure within. The door made just a tiny sound as she moved it and pressed her palms against the latch, as if that way she could drown out the noise of the lock. Blocking the dim light from the corridor, Claire sucked in her breath and gnawed her thumb anxiously as she spotted some lumps on the floor. These forced the redhead to zigzag as she carefully made her way to the bed.

Spotting her brother through the tangle of sheets was easy because he slept topless on his stomach, the pearly gleam reflecting the chiseled muscles of his bare back. Linen crawled up his hunched legs, curled around the virile curve of his waist. Claire, mortified and unsure, noticed that he slept across the entire mattress. If she got in and he bothered to wake him up unnecessarily?

Once, twice, three times she poked his shoulder... Claire quickly decided better not to disturb, which was a signal to return to her room. Suddenly, she heard a throaty purr and saw just as Chris blinked his eyes accustomed to the dark.

"Claire?" he asked visibly groggy. "What happen?"

With her thumb between her teeth, the teenager shrugged.

"I lost sleep and wanted to see if I could..." She shook her head, backing away. "Sorry Chris, keep sleeping."

The one who stopped the redhead from turning around was Chris, growling a "Hold on" as he made room and pulled the covers up for her. Claire caught the invitation and crawled slowly onto the free side of the bed. She flopped onto her side and something inside her warmed as Chris copied the position, extending one arm above her head.

"Chris?" she whispered after a while, noticing very late that he was falling asleep.

"Hmm?" He blinked, running his fingers through his little sister's auburn bangs. "Tell me, shorty."

"I... I was jealous."

The statement must have hit the right button, because those piercing dark eyes duly focused on her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the blonde at dinner," she said with a nasty lump in her throat. Chris's sweet strokes on her hair felt like heaven; however, compared to the frenzy he devoted to that pretty blonde hours ago, the gesture paled. "I realized how different you look at girls like her."

Chris sighed. "Claire..."

"Let me speak," she said more harshly than she planned, catching even Chris off guard with the fierceness of her determination. "Please," she added softly and fixed her melancholy blue eyes on his. "I know you think this is a silly crush, but it's not as easy as you paint it. Things I feel for you are growing."

"Shorty, you’re too young to know that..."

“You are too old to stop underestimating me and not comparing me to other girls my age. I feel more and more and it won't stop” whispered the redhead, putting a frown on Chris's face. “I avoid the pain of telling our parents that I'm going to marry you because I know that's wrong and impossible. And you can't even imagine how much it hurts to accept it. But you know what? The most important thing of all is that I know that in your eyes I will always be just the little sister. "

Again, Chris was speechless, a flash filling his gaze on her. Silence covered them, but Claire had something else to say.

“Don't be scared, okay? You admitted that I'm intelligent, so I understand that it must be so.” She swallowed that knot and regained strength when he resumed stroking her hair. "Relax, your happiness will be mine. I'm going to take care of you a lot, a lot. Today and always. I'm also going to love you like no one else, never ever, will be able to love you. But promise me that no one will occupy my place in your heart. It's all I ask of you, Chris, that at least that will be mine and mine alone."

"Oh, Claire..." Her brother was hugging her in less than three seconds. Drawing her to the warmth of his chest, he kissed her on the crown. Claire was happy, clinging to his huge bare back. “Of course it will be yours. How do you think someone could replace you?"

Claire shrugged. “That blonde got all your attention in one night. Mm I don’t know".

“You are right that I underestimated you, sweet flea. I recognize it. So it's only fair that you don't underestimate yourself either. I’ll always have attention for you".

When the redhead settled back next to the boy, she smiled at him.

"Would you be jealous because of me?"

“Claire...”

"Yes or no? Tell me,” she insisted, biting her thumb.

“I'm your brother, I'm concerned about your well-being. And I'm not going to let just anyone lay a finger on you,” he finally said.

That was a camouflaged yes. "You're going to be jealous, you'll see."

Chris opened his mouth to reply, but ended up grabbing the redhead's wrist.

"C'mon, stop doing that."

Claire meowed her disappointment before a sudden idea occurred to her. It stretched its neck back like a cobra poised to wedge its fangs into its prey. The purpose of the redhead was similar, in fact, except for the bite. She deftly caught his thumb with her lips. She just popped it into her hot mouth and looked at him in amusement, fluttering her lashes. This act of revenge brought a smug smile to Chris's face.

"You promised to be good for me," he murmured, staring as his thick finger disappeared into the red-haired girl's small, wet mouth. "You have to listen to me when I say something to you."

Claire released his thumb with a wet _pop_ and licked her lips as if what had just happened was the most innocent thing in the world. "I'm a good girl, Chris, very very good."

The affectionate response of the teenager made her earn a kiss from her older brother on the nose. The touch caused the redhead to sigh, but it also caused an interesting shiver that ran through every inch of virgin skin that covered and didn't cover her camisole and pajama shorts.

Knowing this new sensation in her body was like a punishment and a blessing at the same time, forcing her to be terribly aware of Chris's nudity that, until now, she had deliberately overlooked. Because she shouldn't be concentrating too much on those details, right?

But it was too late not to admire the perfect image she had of Chris Redfield, in front row. Claire felt warm in the cold bedroom, instinctively chasing the touch of his lips. At that distance she could feel his breath, smell his scense. Drugged, she craned her neck and pressed a kiss to the pad of the same thumb that had previously been on her mouth.

Little by little he was overcome by sleep like her. The two sought comfort without straying too far from each other. Claire dared to slide one of her hands around her brother's waist, drawing them even closer into the shelter of darkness and piled-up sheets. If Chris was not bothered by the intimacy of the position due to the sleepy state, she wasn't obsessed either. The only thing that mattered was that he was there and no one could take that away from her.

* * *

It was in that deep moment of past sensations _-when she returned from her intimate memories and with a pained groan she recognized that her sticky panties were slipping-_ that the redhead looked at the picture frame of her and her brother on the bedside table. Then the lightbulb went on.

Sure. How it didn't occur to her before.

"Claire, honey! It's eat time,” her mother's announcement interrupted her thoughts.

"I'm coming, Mom," she yelled back, reaching for the picture frame.

There was a piece of paper hidden on the back and Claire exclaimed a silent "bingo" as she pulled it away. With eager fingers she unfolded the page and read:

> _If you come up with an excuse to sleep here, which I have no doubt because you're a crafty girl, use it._
> 
> _I want to have an excuse to find you my bed and hug you_.

Claire put her thumb to her lips and suppressed a savage smile.

"Claire?!"

"Uh, yeah! I go!" She tucked the note between her breasts and picked up her jacket before stumbling out of Chris's room.

* * *

The juicy piece of lasagna melted the redhead's palate for when Chris finally called.

"Chris! How was the trip?" Mrs. Redfield said as soon as she had answered the phone.

Claire's appetite was affected by the familiar cramps that invaded her stomach. She planted herself in the chair while her parents chatted with the person on the other end of the line, occupying her hands and mouth as much as she could so as not to look pathetically flustered. Her parents laughed and spoke excitedly, sending her a smile or a radiant look from time to time.

If they only knew.

Just when she thought if he would ask for her, her father commented, “Claire? Yes, it's here with us. She was very hungry, because she devours the whole lasagna. " Thomas scoffed at the redhead's behavior. She choked and hit her chest when her eyes got wet.

"You want to talk with her? Sure, I'm going to pass you,” added Mr. Redfield, moving his youngest daughter with those simple words that, to anyone, would be nothing to write home about. However, the impact was only understood by her.

Claire sucked her thumb before reaching for the phone her dad handed her. Having her parents' glances on her with every move she made forced her to compose herself, count to ten, and greet with a carefree, "Hey, Chris."

 _"Hey, darling,_ " The deep male voice on the other end of the line sweetened every sense of the young redhead. Had she been alone, she would have melted like chocolate under heat. He had that power in her. _"Tell me that you have missed me as much as I have missed you."_

Claire sighed. Evidently he was free to express what she didn't in these circumstances. “You can't imagine. I was very sad when I knew that you left again. "

Although her parents resumed dinner and their own talk, they were still too close and present. Claire played with the napkin on the side of her plate.

 _"I'm so sorry, shorty. Everything happened very fast. Dad had to drag me to the airport."_ Her older brother laughed and she smiled tenderly. _"I wanted so much to see you."_

"I... Me too." The rough dryness of her own response made her feel terrible. She was dying to tell him too much, but she couldn't. She quickly added, “Dad told me he took your car keys. Right, daddy?"

As Claire suspected all along, her father nodded immediately. Of course he was paying attention to the conversation. "He looked like a baby whose treat is taken away!"

_"Mm, dad is heard far..."_

“Not too much, big boy. We're all at the table. Well, except you."

He wasn't in the next chair, voraciously eating his portion of lasagna. With his charming smile and those dark eyes stalking her like a lion until it was time to sneak into their lairs.

 _"Listen, sweet baby, I'll be back when you least expect it. I'll be there for you,"_ Chris muttered. _"I suppose you were curious in my room, right?"_

Claire's cheeks turned red and the reckless heat inevitably traveled to the suggestive vertex of her thighs.

“Yeah, I do.”

 _"What a good girl you are,"_ came the urgent whisper that Claire loved. _"Are you going to behave while I'm not around?"_

"I always behave myself... at school." With a small smile, she popped a bite of lasagna and moaned quite close to the phone receiver.

She heard Chris's dark laugh.

_"You know you sound fucking good and you take advantage of that, uh?"_

"You know it's better with something very, very deep inside."

From the sound her big brother made, then he caught her sassy hint.

As Diane beckoned her, the redhead swallowed her disappointment and decided to say goodbye to her brother, even if she was dying of desire. “Mom wants to tell you something. So I have to go, for now..." She took a deep breath and bit her lip. _I need you Chris, please come back now_. Those words stuck in her throat for the sake of both. "I love you, big boy."

_"I love you too much, my sweet baby."_

Her mother engaged in another talk with her brother as Claire tries to ignore the echo so close and so distant of her favorite voice.


	4. Devourer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Devourer: (person, animal) that devours...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to thank you for your support and feedback. It seriously give me life!
> 
> I clarify that I'm not in the Air Force and I don't know exactly the subject, but I did a little research to have guidance as I write. Although I'm going to use actual locations, I apologize if there is an error.
> 
> I hope you're noticing the contrast of the past and present in the sibling relationship. There is visibly a bridge between the two points, showing that many things happened for Chris (especially) to slowly cross that bridge over the years. In the previous chapter, the phone call scene was a glimpse of who Chris is today, but they will have to wait to officially see that sexy side that is peeking through the cracks ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

**_It's said that when the light goes out,_ **

**_the monsters come out_ **

* * *

Claire did not officially meet Professor Wesker until she was fourteen.

At that time, precisely, Chris had begun the recruitment process in the Air Force and had to travel soon to Headquarters in Texas. At the airport, as their parents hugged, Claire wept into her hero's burly chest the morning he first swore to her, "I will always come back to you."

"Please," she sniffed her reddened nose, "I need you, Chris."

"You'll not be alone. Mom and Dad are going to take care of you every second while I'm not around, but I want you to be good for me. Okay, shorty?"

"Okeydokey." The redhead wiped her flushed cheeks with the sleeves of her sweatshirt. Larger, rougher hands replaced hers, brushing the wet red locks from her face. The mere gesture elicited another muffled sob from the teenager. How could she bear the distance when she wanted him by her side?

Yet she would let him go, holding her head high like a Redfield: brave, loyal, and grateful; and especially grateful. As much as it broke her heart to watch his departure, getting on that plane and leaving behind the promise of filling the space that no one could occupy in a million years. Chris deserved a good sister who would push him to fulfill all his dreams, no matter if this ended up leading him to a very different path and separate from hers for the rest of their lives. Because he deserved all the happiness and freedom in the world. After caring for her, protecting her, and loving her, it was the least Claire could do for him.

Hide her agony, give a smile and say goodbye as if it didn’t tear half of her soul.

At school, at home whether her parents saw or not and in any place or circumstance, Claire did exactly what her older brother ordered her, she was good as long as he was away. Too far to know if his sister was in danger and rush to her rescue, abandoning whatever it was just to save her.

The Xs on the calendar were accumulated, one after another, with red marker ink. At first, Claire crossed out the boxes, at 6:00 AM without fail. Until one day she understood that she was doing to herself a unnecessary harm. Then Diane took up the task, hopeful.

Thus time passed. The youngest Redfield's fourteenth birthday one morning rushed without warning, to the disappointment of the redhead, because Chris was still absent. Diane and Thomas congratulated her as soon as she got up, with incalculable love. At school, her friends in remembered the date and showered her with hugs and jokes. Sadly, Claire was haunted by the memory of her big brother.

It was too painful.

Of course, he didn't forget her birthday. In the afternoon when she came home and her mother said, "Someone wants to say hi to you, honey." And yes, she ran over the phone and the first thing she heard was her favorite voice.

" _How is the cutest and most curious shorty I know?_ " Claire's cheeks inevitably warmed with love. " _Happy birthday, sweet flea._ "

"How I miss you, big boy," she whispered, sneaking a hand to her chest. There was the pendant that he gave her, exactly, last year. "I miss you a lot."

" _You? Imagine how hard it is for me not to see a reddish thicket scurrying around me_." He laughed.

Claire rolled her eyes. That was a little true, just a little bit. "I didn't chase you, Chris. I'm not a puppy."

" _Wow, wow_." She heard the boy's amusement. _"Easy ok? How is the school? Have you been a good girl?_ "

"Mm, yeah. I mean, I haven't been taken to the school principal... Does that count?" joked.

" _Eh. You never change, Claire_." The melancholic note in his words squeezed Claire's heart.

* * *

She found out that Chris was having an affair in those parts when her mother joked over breakfast: "We were talking and I heard the girl's voice. My boy stuttered when I asked him! Yes, there is definitely a girl who has him distracted over there."

Jealousy manifested itself in Claire, but she pretended it weren't there.

"Oh." She swallowed a spoonful of cereal and shrugged. "Good for him. Any minute it was going to happen."

However, Chris did not return that week, not the next, not the next... Claire experienced her first period in the meantime and her developing body underwent more radical changes. Consequently, the burgeoning young lady without her hero around began to develop her own perspectives on life over time.

Claire thought: "Maybe it's a sign, a new opportunity, to overcome these confused feelings and become an ordinary sister."

Yes, Chris was fulfilling his dream of being in the Air Force. Claire was going to be extremely happy for him and would focus on her own youth dramas; like having a crush with Leon Kennedy, forgetting about a math homework, or comforting Elza Walker ( ** _ **her only friend from kindergarten, the one who moved to Kentucky a little over a year later and never heard from again**_** ) because Piers Nivans turned down direct -but cordially- her declaration of love. It was no wonder that the redhead got a bit bored with the everyday routine, so it was a beautiful gift of fate that Barry Burton crossed her path one day.

"Morning, Mr. Burton!" she greeted him that hot noon, passing by the sidewalk in front of his house, wearing jeans, a tight T-shirt and a backpack.

The garage, what a coincidence, was open.

"Hey kid! Coming from school?" he asked, giving her a gentle look.

"Yep."

Barry Burton was a former member of the Air Force and the inspiration who encouraged Chris to choose a similar course. He was one of Thomas's closest friends and although Claire hadn't gotten very close to him in previous years, she liked him and trusted him. For that reason, she went into the garage and whistled.

"Wow."

Barry was changing the oil on an old black motorcycle with orange highlights, so he wiped his hands on a tattered cloth and looked at the curious teenager from his makeshift seat (a tool box).

"Do you like it, reddish?"

"What if I like it... It's sensational!" exclaimed the redhead, about to jump on one foot. Lately she had a slight obsession with motorcycles and Burton detected that bright and genuine interest in the eyes of the younger Redfield. "It's a... Mm... Wait, wait, let me think." She screwed up her face and whispered hesitantly, "Suzuki?"

Barry laughed, raising his eyebrows.

"RD500. Excellent,” he added and pointed to a (real) chair to his left. Claire gladly accepted the invitation. “Do you want me to teach you some tricks? Don't worry about your dad. Kate can let him know. So you can stay for lunch."

"Are you serious? Yes!"

Thanks to Barry and his innate fathering skills combined with the desire to share his hobbies (and since his daughters were still too young for such a thing), those weekends for Claire took on twice the color. She learned more about pistons than about hypotenuses. She got used to ponytails so when she sweated or got her hands dirty, which inevitably happened, her hair didn't get too much in the way. Although she pulled out a fringe and liked the way it looked.

Her personality was forged with a more versatile and independent touch as the course flowed. She was in constant communication with Chris, but her new youthful freshness, and the good things that were happening around her, gave her the certainty that those feelings were officially over. Chris's baritone still made her belly flutter, and the scent of his cologne was etched into her psyche like the ghost of an unforgivable sin (from being able to look at the blood of her blood with different eyes). But she was going to be fine. She had learned a lot about herself in recent months.

And how she still had to discover.

"Miss Valentine, my day has improved by seeing you," Carlos said with a flirtatious smile as he rested a hand next to Jill's open locker on that ordinary Tuesday.

The owner of the locker was putting away her books and ignored the boy's approach. On the opposite extreme from Carlos, Claire was once again aware of how invisible she became next to Jill when it came to boys. Carlos barely waved at her. Well, that mattered so much to her (yes, sarcasm).

"Let's see, and in which part of the comment should I understand your attempt to flirt me?" Jill murmured without looking at him.

"I'm not trying to flirt you up. Okay, I do try something with you, but not that way," he replied with a cunning and grace that both Redfield and Valentine found a very interesting attribute.

The two girl friends shared a look and agreed on that thought. Jill modeled a smirk when she finally looked up at Carlos, while Claire witnessed it all biting her thumb.

"Yeah. Do you try something? Fine. Good for you. But do it from afar."

"C'mon, Jill. If you don't have any interest anyway, why would it be a problem to let myself break my illusions."

Jill stared at him for a long time.

"What the hell are you up to here?"

"Okay, don't get aggressive." Carlos raised his hands, looking for a second at the bright blue eyes that watched silently.

He knew Claire Redfield wasn't a gossip, but like any kid in school, Carlos was intimidated by the infamous overprotective big brother, muscular and big, and to top it off, now in the Air Force. No thanks.

Besides, she was one of Jill's closest friends, and the last thing Carlos would do was mess with that redhead who even her name said: Danger.

"What are you trying? Trick me?"

"I'm just saying, what could you lose. You don't like me and you won't like me. Why worry then? It's not like I'm going to get in the way. Don't worry, I know the limits and, above all, your personal space." Carlos winked at her.

Jill crossed her arms and prepared to respond.

By the time things got fucking interesting, Claire caught a glimpse of Ingrid Hunnigan crossing the hall. Another time it would have been an irrelevant act, but the redhead had missed her class the day before and had been looking for the woman all morning. As a result, Claire shot out of her position against the lockers and chased Hunnigan's trail.

The sudden impact on her shoulder was the work of an ordinary student. The guy didn't even apologize, ha. Claire snorted, rubbed her arm with a pout, and turned in time to watch a peculiar scene.

As she understood it, Albert Wesker did not interact with anyone at the institute at all. And when she said nobody, she wasn't kidding, she meant n-o-t-h-i-n-g. He just went, came, did whatever he did and then disappeared. The man was a mystery, a ghost. If the ghosts wore sunglasses 24/7 and combed with plenty of gel to the smallest strand of hair.

Well, that same man had just left one of the administration offices like a gale carrying some documents, wearing black from head to toe. And that man had just lost a couple of leaves from his wad without realizing it.

The blond slid down the hall with feline speed. Evidently, the fuss prevented him from seeing the leaves that fluttered around his muscular legs until they fell to the floor with a whisper that only Claire heard because she was looking. She hesitated, but dropped to her knees to pick up the pages before the barrage of students trampled it (and nearly trampled her).

First of all, she tracked down Hunnigan. She intercepted the woman, explained what had happened to her. Hunnigan was not going to withdraw her absence, but she would accept the task that was missing.

"Thank you! You are the best, Professor Hunnigan!" the redhead celebrated, gave her thumbs up and started off in the opposite direction.

Everything she knew about Wesker was general and ambiguous, but if Claire wanted to place him, then she would start from the most obvious place. She dodged the influx of people and came to the door of the staff room just as Wesker walked through it, recognized him by his broad back, height, and funeral attire.

Whether or not the blonde would be mad at her daring, anyway, it was too late to regret it when Claire slipped between the swing and the door before it slammed shut right in her face. Sheep-blue eyes witnessed in disbelief the piece of wood that nearly crushed her. Then she looked at the imposing figure of the man who (as if nothing, with a haughty gait) kept walking.

_Mm, okay._

Though doubt attacked, she cleared her throat.

"Professor Wesker, you lost this out there."

The reaction obtained was not exactly what she expected. He slowed his walk, but kept his broad back to her, shoulders high. Claire gulped as the blonde slowly turned his head like a cobra. He didn't turn around, however, he just looked over his shoulder. Although Claire couldn't be sure whether or not he was looking at her under those dark glasses.

Suddenly, he approached, took the leaves that the redhead handed him. He stood still and opened his mouth only to say, "I suppose I have to say thank you."

And he left. He turned and with the same haughtiness and stealth disappeared from sight. Claire rolled her eyes. Did he have to be such a jerk?


	5. Dissaminated

* * *

**_It hurt not to have him_ **

**_but it hurt more to know_ **

**_that someone else had him_ **

* * *

Although things did not cross the limit (irremediable), it was the heat of that hell that fanned the first flames that Claire never imagined being able to awaken.

That is to say, not on purpose.

At first, the fact of having talked to Wesker —or rather, seeing him be a jerk from the front row— was completely irrelevant. Of course, if before she only saw the trace of Wesker's shadow, now suddenly he was everywhere.

"I'm dying for the day that I don't have to go into that classroom anymore... with him," Jill said with a snort.

Rebecca, next to her, put a finger to her chin and commented: "If you have heard the rumors that... the _subject in question_... likes minors? Do you think that is true?"

"I don't care shit to know... but nobody knows anything about him. Honestly, he's a jerk, ”Jill mumbled, rocking her hips from side to side.

"What do you say, redhead?" Rebecca asked without looking at Redfield.

Claire walked behind her girl friends. What did she think of Wesker? Well, the further that man was, better.

"If he like younger girls, we just have to avoid him."

How ironic does it sound to say, that she forgot her own warning?

The class (which was the last of the day) passed slowly, taking with it the spirits of the students who struggled to hide each yawn and nod. There wasn't a stomach that didn't rumble as departure time approached. When the bell rang, despair and relief were shared.

Rebecca and Jill ran to the door, while Claire grabbed her backpack. And suddenly...

"Do me a favor, Miss Redfield."

Wesker's dark voice chilled her and her girl friends looked at him as if he were about to sentence her funeral.

"Uh, professor." She approached the desk hesitantly. She played with her ponytail to disguise the trembling of her fingers. The blond man in glasses remained seated and "concentrated" on the contents of a folder. "Professor?"

A slit of blue eyes peeked over the glasses. “You are an outstanding student. Her last exam was pretty mediocre though."

Claire sighed. He was referring to last week's exam, which she couldn't focus much on because the idea of Chris with a girl was unsettling, not in her waking time, but in her stupid dreams. Was there anything more ridiculous than being jealous while sleeping?

In her defense, none of that happened when her mother commented on it. Everything changed when Claire herself heard the funny voice in the background of the phone call.

" _You throw your socks everywhere baby!_ "

Claire had been eating breakfast before going to school, and froze when she heard the honeyed "Baby."

" _So dodge them_ " that was Chris's bratty reply, seasoned with something else... Something mischievous. The kind of tone Chris would never use with his little sister,

because it could only be for a lover.

This fact was a reality slap when Chris now spoke to Claire. " _Shorty, how are you doing in school?_ "

Dropping the spoon harder than it should on her plate, Claire ignored her mother's shocked look.

"Excellent and actually, I have to go now. I don't want to be late. I'll spend you with mom."

The sudden change in mood was evident to her brother.

" _Sweet flea, hey what's up?_ "

"Bye, Chris."

Suddenly there was a transformation in Chris's voice, it was almost a domineering growl that came out of his mouth afterward, but Claire didn't succumb to his authority:

_"Claire Redfield, don't even think about it..."_

She got up, handed the phone to Diane with a neutral expression. She prevented her mother from initiating an interrogation by saying, "I remembered that I have to get to school early. Some teachers are unbearable."

She managed to hear the echo of her brother's voice, but Claire no longer had the appetite or desire to talk to him now.

The memory made her grumble.

"I can explain, sir..."

“Did I ask you for an explanation? Because at no point did those words come out of my mouth. Am I wrong, Redfield?"

"Not at all, professor," she whispered through her teeth. She wanted to insult him. But Chris's voice was repeating in her head.

**_**Be a good girl to me.** _ **

"It is a warning. You better keep your grades. I want to save myself the need to tolerate another airhead in my classroom."

Claire's tender lips loosened, out of outrage and disbelief, as Wesker stood up and gathered his things so gaily, wrapping his imposing figure in a coat, equal to or darker than the rest of his clothing. But what an arrogant jerk! The redhead girl snapped her teeth. That guy should be ashamed of expressing himself in such a rude way, in front of a student. Who was believed? If he disliked the job as an educator too much, if it burned his to be surrounded by boisterous teenagers, then there was a very large outlet from which to get his huge pretentious ass.

“How can you say such things about your students?! I'm not the only one who breaks the ass studying your boring classes!"

It was too late to press a hand to her mouth, because the death sentence had already escaped her long before she was conscious. Wesker had come to a complete stop, his coat lapels halfway to his shoulders and his head bowed. Claire's soul screamed "Sayonara" and what was left on the scene was her body paralyzed by true terror. The worst thing was that he began to move, seconds later, with a patience that tormented her.

She waited, waited, and waited on the brink of panic. She had lowered her hand when the blond man came over to her side. Claire's instincts jumped in the way she avoided copying, outwardly. Instead, she straightened her back like a champion. What she did not expect was that the smell of his cologne made her slightly dizzy. If he tried to intimidate her, he succeeded. Wesker was exaggeratedly tall. Her older brother was sure to rack up a good few inches before he was twenty-five, but she doubted he would get as long as Wesker. Width? Yes. Long? Would check that later.

"Miss Redfield." He leaned into her ear. "Be careful who wants to be a cheeky girl."

He withdrew, left as if nothing had happened. And Claire swallowed the lump in her throat.

* * *

"Claire!"

She wasn't going halfway down the hall when she bumped into Leon and his warm hands. She blinked in his arms and realized the boy didn't let go of her right away.

Her.crush.was.grabbing.her.

"Leon..."

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked to know, frowning.

She was about to answer when Leon brushed her bangs from her forehead, as if the gesture and the extreme proximity were the most natural thing in the world. The syllables tangled on her tongue like traitors.

She didn't see it coming.

Her heart lost a couple of beats. She whispered an awkward "Yeah."

"Are you sure?" A perfect Leon brow arched. Curiosity filled his attractive features and the blond lock that fell from his eye became quite a sight. For Claire, this pretty sight of the Kennedy beauty was a welcome distraction, after Wesker's suffocating closeness. "The paleness of your face is almost screaming the lie at me."

"I..." She sighed. "I only had to endure a few lectures from Professor Wesker, Leon," she replied, missing for a long second the warmth of the blond's hands on her wrists.

The statement doubled the impression on Kennedy's face.

"Tell me we're not talking about the same guy." Claire decided to shrug and make a face. “At what time are you going to be expelled? I should be there to say goodbye to you, brave girl."

They started walking together. Claire found the strength to laugh without making another embarrassing noise.

"I do not know. If I am expelled for answering Wesker, I would go with my head held high."

Leon nodded and his gaze fell on a group of girls at the other end of the corridor. Little girl Redfield was not surprised that the blond guy was very interested in the flirtatious smiles he was getting from the girls. Obviously, he was not indifferent, although there was no way of knowing exactly what he was thinking. However, in that instant Claire knew she had to go another way.

She really liked him a lot, after Chris and the forbidden sensations that he aroused in her for years, Leon had managed to earn a strong feeling. It was useless to pretend he was better than Chris, because it was a lie. As handsome and amazing as he was, Leon was not her sweet and protective big brother. It did not make her heart race at the same speed, or make her happy with a simple smile.

Leon wasn't Chris, and she struggled not to compare them and end in a painful spiral.

Anyway, she would have loved to stay by his side, talk even about some nonsense and try some kind of flirtation, if the possibility arose to attract his attention. But Claire had seen that look before, yes, on her brother's face. And neither of them addressed her.

Why did it surprise her?

"Time to go," she murmured with a small smile, causing Leon's blue eyes to immediately search her. "It was good to see you, Leon."

"Claire, wait, I..." He took a step toward her, but a female voice called out his name and he was again distracted.

Claire took that signal to turn and leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yujuuu, things are rough. I'll leave this here and wait for the comments *insert evil laugh*


End file.
